The workshop that Katy, Heather and I conducted was called “Painting with Sound.” Upon walking in, children see tables in three sections and are instructed to choose between two of the first steps, which are “creating a paintbrush” and “music mixing.” Although this decision to split up the tables was last minute, it really helped us keep a smooth transition when larger groups came in.
Heather was in charge of helping children create conductive paintbrushes. We had an array of different metal materials that could potentially create interesting marks with paint. Students were able to assemble these parts and add wire and aluminum foil to create a more interesting and stable painting utensil. Because the next step was a faster process, this station slowed the children down as they experimented with what kinds of marks they wanted to make when painting. This really helped with the flow of our workshop. The only issue with this station was that it got messy very quickly. Since there were only three of us for the majority of the workshop, it was difficult to find time to refresh the materials and paper. However, once volunteers stepped in we could replace papers and clean paint brushes. If I could go back, I would have replacement paper to cover the tables ready to go for when we needed to clean things up a bit. It is always important to have extra supplies nearby when it gets hectic, so no one has to leave the room.
I conducted the next step, which was music mixing. In this station, students were able to listen to and select different sound tracks to create a mix of the sounds they wanted to use. At first, we weren’t too sure how to use the Makey Makey Go because it only allowed one connection at a time. In the end, however, we really used it to our advantage and I’m really happy that we had all four of them to use. At this station, students sat at a laptop with a Makey Makey go attached to a piece of aluminum foil. Here, I was able to explain how the Makey Makey go worked, which hopefully helped them to understand the final step better when they used the big Makey Makey. Children listened to and chose which mix of three sounds they wanted to use in their final piece. At this station, the students were very engaged and excited to be able to create their own songs. They really enjoyed experimenting with the different sounds, and I felt that the parents were really engaged during this step. I remember one father is involved in music and was excited to see his kids working with music in this way.
What I found interesting was that some students, in varying age groups, needed a lot of help using the track pad on the laptop. I did not expect this challenge at all, but most kids were able to learn how to use it after a couple of tries. Very young kids needed more assistance from myself or parents, but were eventually able to do it themselves. Seeing the children’s faces light up when they liked their mix of sounds was so heartwarming. Although this was a transitional step, a lot of kids just wanted to keep mixing! Once I explained what they would do in the final step, they got even more excited. Seeing their enthusiasm was so rewarding.
The final step is where the magic happened. Children took their carefully selected sounds and programmed it into our Scratch game. Katy was then able to explain how the Makey Makey worked in more detail, why we needed conductive paint brushes and how it translated to our paints. At this station, the line kept building up (this was expected). Even though children had to wait to create their final piece, some were still fascinated when watching the process of their peers. Allowing students the time to sit back and watch others create was helpful in the long run, because they were able to think about what was going on and hopefully understand the process a bit more. I wish I could have been around this table more and be able to focus on students creating their final pieces because I would have loved to see more incredible reactions from the kids. Maybe we should have rotated stations every so often just to satisfy our curiosity!
Either way, I had an incredible time conducting this workshop. Although it had its hectic moments, it was so rewarding to see and entertain children as they learned about the Makey Makey, mixing sounds, and how sounds can influence their choices within their paintings. I hope students discovered how joyful the process of painting can be when you’re not necessarily concerned with the end result. There were so many aspects of this workshop that students could learn from, and I’m really glad that I got to be involved in the process! Days like this make me so excited for my future as an art educator.
